Remember great play of Black and VanGorp

Thank you Jamal Middlebrooks for your commentary on the '97-'98 women's basketball season. They were indeed wonderful to watch. You captured the highlights very nicely-the three victories against N.C. State (the eventual Final Four team), Virginia and North Carolina (the only team in the entire NCAA to run with the champion Tennessee team this entire season); the win over Louisville in the second round of the tournament which took them to their first Sweet Sixteen; and the amazing win over Florida (including Peppi Browne's and Lauren Rice's excellent defense of All-American Muriel Page).

But (you knew there was a "but," didn't you?) when talking about the players who helped make up the core of the team this year, there were a couple of glaring omissions! One, Michele VanGorp and two, Payton Black. VanGorp garnered an ACC player of the week and was crucial in the wins over Louisville and Florida. She was admittedly a little uneven at times but when she was on, she made some big contributions to the success of this year's team. Black was way off her form in the beginning of the season. After losing her starting position,however, she bounced back to become a most valuable "first player off the bench." Her play was, at times, inspired and certainly helped in several wins.

One other quality of the team this year was the ability of a different player to step forward to lead the team in each game. In part, this highlights Hilary Howard's most valuable contribution-finding the "hot" player and getting them the ball. Most shooters (and even the great ones) are to some extent, "streaky." The thing that helped this team succeed was that it was hard to predict exactly who would step up, which forced opposing teams to completely switch their defenses during the games.

And last (but certainly not least) credit goes to Coach Gail Goestenkors. It's not easy to bring together a team without a "superstar." It certainly helps that she actively recruits players with a good balance of character, athleticism and academics. We're looking forward to another fun year!

Sue Unruhe

Medical Center employee